We have celebrated so much learning this past week, but one group that deserves a special shout out is our ELL students. We have 3 ELL (English Language Learner) teachers who pour their hearts into making sure every bilingual student at Hayward has the tools they need to be as successful as possible in the classroom. Everyday English can be tricky to master, but imagine being put into a classroom and not understanding the academic language! With the mastery of that academic language, our students are given the chance to soar in their classrooms. Every year, our ELL students undergo a rigorous test, the WIDA test, that measures their growth and mastery of that academic language. It is a difficult test, one that native English speakers would struggle with at times. It tests our bilingual students in the areas of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. This year, we had 21 students pass the test and they are ready to move on in school without language assistance! We couldn't be more proud of the hard work, perseverance, and determination they showed to past this particular test! In addition to all this good news, we had one 5th grade student score the highest score possible on this difficult test!! Bravo!!!
